[Per s.s. Te Anau at Bluff.]

Te Aroha News, Volume I, Issue 32, 12 January 1884, Page 5

[Per s.s. Te Anau at Bluff.]

Gunboat for South Australia. London, December 2S. — The gunboat Protector, which has been successfully constructed for the South Australian Government by Messrs Armstrong & Co., has been successfully launched.

Excitement in India. The Ilbert Bill, which provides for the trial of Europeans by Indian native magistrates,' is the subject of keen discussion in India, and the compromise recently arrived at by -which Europeans can be tried by native magistrates, provided that a majority of the jury are Europeans, is viewed with disfavour by the natives. The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has repudiated the claim put forward by France to Ecrebos(?)

Operations in Tonquin. The preparations which Admiral Courbet, the French Commander-in-Chief, is making for a vigorous attack upon Backninh, the stronghold of the " Black Flags" has led, it is reported, to the evacuation of that place by the Chinese. Sontay, which which was recently captured by the French after a protracted conflict, has been garrisoned with French soldiers. Marquis Tseng still remains in Paris, but he has not renewed his negotiations with the French authorities for a settlement of the difficulty between China and France.